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SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

bbc.co.uk

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Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#41

Post by [deleted] »

wlesieutre wrote: post #6
shripadk wrote: post #2

"The number beats the previous record of 104 satellites carried aloft by an Indian vehicle in 2017" Does this vehicle not have a name? Or is the reporter too lazy to look it up? BBC never fails when it comes to its Anti-India stance.

The mission was PSLV-C37, but they also didn't tell you that the SpaceX flight was F9-106 or that it flew on booster B1058. Would you describe that as the BBC's anti-American stance at work? Or maybe the serial numbers tacked on to the missions aren't really newsworthy, and anyone who wants more specific details can type "104 satellites" into google? I vouched you comment back up because I think it's worth linking, b…

[deleted]

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#42

Post by shripadk »

wlesieutre wrote: post #6
shripadk wrote: post #2

"The number beats the previous record of 104 satellites carried aloft by an Indian vehicle in 2017" Does this vehicle not have a name? Or is the reporter too lazy to look it up? BBC never fails when it comes to its Anti-India stance.

The mission was PSLV-C37, but they also didn't tell you that the SpaceX flight was F9-106 or that it flew on booster B1058. Would you describe that as the BBC's anti-American stance at work? Or maybe the serial numbers tacked on to the missions aren't really newsworthy, and anyone who wants more specific details can type "104 satellites" into google? I vouched you comment back up because I think it's worth linking, b…

> but they also didn't tell you that the SpaceX flight

We know it is a SpaceX flight. I have never seen any news story call it an "American flight". Have always seen news stories attribute to the organization: NASA/SpaceX/Virgin Galactic etc. I would have ignored the slight had the story at least mentioned ISRO. And this is a report by the "Science Correspondent". This would be a bare minimum expectation.

> I vouched you comment back up because I think it's worth linking, but no need to ascribe some sort of malicious motive to the BBC here.

Thanks for vouching. Well BBC has held an anti-India stance for quite a long time[1]. Even positive stories are spun around to paint India in a negative light. And it is not just the BBC. A huge section of the Western media indulges in this behavior. So felt like calling them out. Even if I am the lone voice here.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Indian_sentiment#BBC

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#43

Post by herodoturtle »

JshWright wrote: post #39
herodoturtle wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was an incredibly insightful comment, thank you. I've been following SpaceX relatively closely; as a South African I've cheered on Elon since his PayPal exit - and so for example I had friends over for dinner on the night of the twin Falcon landing (and more recently the crewed Dragon mission). Please forgive my fanboyism, but now that I've read your points that you've just made, it has shed a whole new (fascina…

Polar launches out of Florida are not some special SpaceX magic. It has more to do with the capabilities of the Eastern Range.

Yeah, I hear ya.

This was not the 0x5F3759DF of rocket science.

My friends and I are simply rooting for a fellow South African.

Everything SpaceX do is special SpaceX magic to us. And those live-streaming youtubers from the NASA channel are a fun bunch.

Their commentary during the static fire tests the other day kept us company whilst we were working - good fun.

I guess I'm just easy to please.

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#44

Post by titzer »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #30
titzer wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This[1] suggests an orbit of 500-600km can a lifetime anywhere from 10-100 years. That's not short. [1] https://www.spaceacademy.net.au/watch/debris/orblife.htm The 5-year lifespan is for them to be intentionally deorbited. If they die, they become debris subject to atmospheric drag and other forces.

Thats a great link I think it's inportant to note that a traditional 3 ton sattelite and a cubesat will have totally different lifetimes, and that articles appears to assume a larger satellite

Yea, I saw that. It seems the key thing is the ratio of surface area to mass. It seems reasonable for a smaller satellite to have higher surface area to mass, and thus deorbit faster, but I don't have a handy link to that data.

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#45

Post by r618 »

_Microft wrote: post #20

Something that might not be obvious for people not following space flight closely: this was a launch into a polar orbit from Florida . In the past these would have launched from Vandenberg airforce base in California because there is a clear path towards the south from there. So, how is SpaceX doing that now? They are conducting a so-called „dog leg“ maneuver. This trajectory leads the rocket further out to the east…

this was their _second_ polar orbit mission from Florida

first was SAOCOM 1B back in August 2020: https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/08/31/spacex-launches-first-...

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#46

Post by voxic11 »

MayeulC wrote: post #19
Jabbles wrote: post #8

Are satellites the size of books required to have a method of self de-orbiting? Or are they in orbits that have limited lifespans?

Usually, a satellite that launches from a country has to abide by that country's regulations. As a requirement for getting regulatory approval to launch your satellite, I think you have to submit a debris management plan, which can include raising a geostationary satellite to a graveyard orbit after EOL (GEO is really far from earth, it would take a lot of fuel to de-orbit them), or lower a low-earth orbit to an alti…

I wonder what regulations would need to be followed if spacex did their launches from a modified oil rig in international waters?

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#47

Post by vkou »

gregoriol wrote: post #34
vkou wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars spend most of their time at rest, don't travel at cosmic speeds, and when they collide, don't send tens of thousands of pieces of shrapnel flying around the world for months/decades.

Cars seem to have a lot in common actually: satellites are "at rest" most of the time, it just that this rest could be a hazard as some point; but a car parked badly, around a sharp turn or in the middle of the highway would be a hazard as well. Cars can collide too, they can leave debris, which can become dangerous themselves for other cars, or pollute the nature around from leaks, ... The only reason I'd say cars a…

Other cars can steer around a badly stopped car. Satellites can't. A better analogy would be if once they entered their lane, cars would have to travel down it at their maximum speed, without being able to steer, or brake. Under those constraints, I, uh, wouldn't get into a car.

Cars are also not phased if they run over a loose bolt. The same can't be said for satellites.

> We don't do it yet with satellites.

Basic orbital mechanics indicates that we won't ever be able to clean up Kessler-syndrome space debris in a remotely-economical manner. There'd be too much of it, and it would travel at vastly disjoint orbits.

Orbit changes are extremely expensive.

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#49

Post by m4rtink »

JshWright wrote: post #39
herodoturtle wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was an incredibly insightful comment, thank you. I've been following SpaceX relatively closely; as a South African I've cheered on Elon since his PayPal exit - and so for example I had friends over for dinner on the night of the twin Falcon landing (and more recently the crewed Dragon mission). Please forgive my fanboyism, but now that I've read your points that you've just made, it has shed a whole new (fascina…

Polar launches out of Florida are not some special SpaceX magic. It has more to do with the capabilities of the Eastern Range.

Sure, but the first polar launch from Florida since 1969 happened this August on a Falcon 9, so they do have a role in making this a reality.

Did anyone else fly that trajectory actually since August or is it SpaceX only so far ?

Re: SpaceX: World record number of satellites launched

#50

Post by m4rtink »

tehbeard wrote: post #40
_Microft wrote: post #20

Something that might not be obvious for people not following space flight closely: this was a launch into a polar orbit from Florida . In the past these would have launched from Vandenberg airforce base in California because there is a clear path towards the south from there. So, how is SpaceX doing that now? They are conducting a so-called „dog leg“ maneuver. This trajectory leads the rocket further out to the east…

> This had not been done in decades if I remember correctly. Not in decades at the Cape, perhaps. I can't recall exactly who (maybe India/ISRO?) Do it frequently due to dropping first stages on neighbours being a faux Pas.

Back in ~1969 they did drop stages on Cuba IIRC.

Other than that no one really drops stages on neighbors - China drops them on their own (evacuated) villages on land and other rockets are often designed the way they are due to the need of not dropping stages on people - Shavit launching westwards or PSLV/GSLV staging in a specific way to avoid dropping stages on some inhabitted islands.

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